Happy Game of Thrones day!

Today sees the return of Game of Thrones to our screens (if you haven't seen it you really should, it's awesome) and to celebrate this I'm creating main course and dessert inspired by one of the noble houses, House Stark.

The Starks come from the North of the country of Westeros which is described as being an isolated, desolate place, especially when winter hits the realm.  The Starks words or motto is 'Winter is Coming' a reminder that no matter how long and how good the summer is winter is inevitably not far behind.  As I said the meal is inspired by the book/series, not an attempt to re-create the dishes mentioned - for that you should check out the blog Inn at the Crossroads.

The main course is a hearty beef stew served on a bread trencher.  The trencher was a traditional part of the medieval meal and since A Game of Thrones is set in a fantastical medieval world seems fit with the theme nicely.  I use a good basic bread recipe for the trencher - the recipe makes enough for 6 people but if you're feeding less the uncooked dough can be frozen and used for bread rolls or even pizza bases. I've cooked my beef stew in a slow cooker but it's just as easily cooked on the hob.  If done on the hob it might need more liquid.

Beef Stew - serves 6

900g stewing steak, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 swede, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 beef stock cube

1) fry off the steak in a little oil.  Once browned transfer to a slow cooker.

2) Using the same pan fry off the onions, carrot and swede.  Add these to the slow cooker then pour in the tomatoes and crumble in the stock cube.  Top up with enough water to cover everything. Season with pepper (stock cubes can be quite salty so   it won't need any more) Put the lid on the slow cooker and leave for 5 hours on high, 8 on low.

Trencher

350g strong whole wheat flour
150g strong white flour
1 packet fast acting yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
300 ml warm water

1) Tip the flours into a large bowl and mix together.  Add the yeast, sugar and salt being careful not to let the salt and yeast touch.

2) Add 3/4 of the water and mix.  I find the easiest way to do this is to let your hand mimic the shape of a dough hook.  Add the rest of the water.

3) Tip the dough out on to a lightly oiled surface.  I find using oil rather than flour makes the bread much easier to knead and cuts down on the amount of mess made by the dough.  Knead for at least 10 minutes until it forms a smooth ball.  Put in an oiled bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for at least an hour.

4) After the dough has doubled to twice its size it needs to be knocked back.  Give the dough a good poke and it should all deflate.  Take it out of the bowl and knead again.  It's now ready for shaping.  Split the dough into four and shape into rough squares.  Roll them out and then use your fingers to create dimples in the surface.  Prick the middle with a fork and leave to prove for an hour.

5) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220C/fan 200C/gas mark 7 for 30 minutes

6) To assemble put the bread on a plate and pile high with the stew.

(This recipe got 20 thumbs up from Baby Bear!)

For dessert I'm taking inspiration from Sansa's love of lemon cakes.  I thought about making mini lemon drizzle cakes but decided in the end to go instead for a warm lemon pudding.  I'd never cooked anything like this before and was surprised by how easy and delicious it was.  The mixture was very liquid before cooking and I wasn't sure if I'd done something wrong but it turned out beautifully.  The sponge creates its own lemon curd like sauce underneath and it was lovely on an unexpectedly cold evening (seriously weather, it's April, stop being so rubbish!)


Warm lemon pudding - serves 6

50g butter
200g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
3 eggs, separated
50g plain flour
250ml milk

1) Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the zest, lemon, egg yolks, flour and milk and beat well.

2) In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they stiffen.  Stir into the other bowl being careful not to beat all the air out of the mix.

3) Spoon the mix into ramekins and put the ramekins into a deep baking dish.  Boil the kettle and fill the baking half full with water (I find the easiest way to do this is to pull out the oven shelf, put the baking dish on the shelf then pour in the water)  Put in a pre-heated oven at 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!  And always remember, Winter is Coming.